Carton filling machine



Oct. 30, 1934.

M. J. MILMOE.

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR I ATTORNEY.

Oct. 30,. 1934. M. J. MILMOE CARTON FILLING- MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATVORNE'X;

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY.

Oct. 30, 1934. M. J. MILMOE' CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 4 a m F INVENTbR.

ATTORNEY Oct. 30, 1934. M. J. MILMOE CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR.

' A TTORNEK Oct. 30, 1934. M. J. MILMOE CARTON FILLING MACHINE 16 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed .April 22, 1929 IN VENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

Ot. 30, 1934. M. J. MILMOE 1,979,207 CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 7 JNVEN TOR.

ATTORNEK M. J. MILMOE CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22. 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 8 g V m w I Fla; is

INVENTO A TTORN K Ot. 30, 1934. M. J. MILMOE 1,979,207

CARTON FILLI NG MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 9 A TTORNEY- Oct. 30, 1934. W J, MlLMOE 1,979,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed ,April 22. 1929 16 Sheets-Sheet 12 IN V EN TOR.

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A TTORNEX Oct. 30, 1934. M. .J. MILMOE CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed A ril 22. 1929' 16 Sheets-Sheet 14 INVENTOR. .WQZWM BY ATTORNEY.

Oct. 30, 1934. M .MILMOE 1,919,207

CARTON FILLING MACHINE Filed April 22, 1929 16 SheetsSheet 16 2 IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEY- Patented Oct. 30, 1934 gUNlTED STATE-S CARTON FILLING MACHINE Michael J. Milmoe, Chicago, Ill., assignor to F. B.

Redington Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application April 22, 1929, Serial No. 356,933

71 Claims.

The present invention relates to carton filling machines and particularly to that type of machine in which a folder or circular is inserted in the carton at the same time as the article.

The illustrated embodiment of my invention shows a machine which is adapted to insert tubes of tooth paste, shaving cream, and the like, into a carton, and to simultaneously insert a descriptive circular or folder in said carton by a certain novel means which will presently be described.

The present invention has for one of its objects the provision of a machine which is smooth in operation and which will insert the article and folder into the carton with a minimum amount of effort and much more quickly than in machines previously employed for such purposes.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means for insuring that one and only one carton will be delivered at predetermined intervals so as to prevent clogging of the machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved feed chain for the articles which has a variable speed mechanism which causes the chain to move very slowly while the article is at the position where it is to be ejected from the feed' chain into the carton, and to move rapidly after the article has been ejected and until the next article is in position to be ejected.

Another object of this invention is the provision of means for feeding the circulars or folders to a position between the article and the empty carton in which the article is to be placed.

Another and quite important object of this A invention is the provision of a means which tends to partially fold the circular or folder prior to the time that the article comes into engagement therewith so as to insure that the circular or folder is carried into the carton by the article when it is engaged thereby and not deflected to one side or the other of the article as the article moves into the carton.- By the use of this means, it is practically certain that each carton will receive a circular whereas, in some embodiments, it was found that if the article itself was used alone to carry the circular into the carton, quite a number of the circulars were deflected to one side or the other and did not enter the carton. The folding device may, however, be dispensed with.

The glue applying mechanism shown herein is described and claimed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 590,062.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 represents a' front elevation of the machine which embodies my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the right hand end of the machine, as viewed in'Fig. 1;

Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are detail views of the variable speed driving mechanism for the chain which carries the articles;

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the means for transporting the cartons from the hopper to a position where the article is inserted, to a second position where the flaps are folded, and to a third position where glue is applied to the flaps;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but shows the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is an isometric view of the means for stripping the cartons from the hopper and feeding them to a position where they may be opened and fed by means of the transporting deviceshown in Figs. 10 to 12, inclusive; I

Fig. 14 is a front elevation of the stripping mechanism shown in Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 14 but showing the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 16 is a cross-section on the line 16-16 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 is anelevational view showing the hop- 1per gate and the expander for opening the car- Fig. 18 is a view similar to Fig. 17 but showing the parts in a slightly different position;

Figs. 19 and 20 illustrate the means used for adjusting the articles in the pockets of the feed chain so that they will be in proper position for insertion in the cartons;

Fig. 21 illustrates themanner in which the articles are placed in the cartons;

Fig. 22 is a view looking from the right in Fig. 20;

Fig. 23 is a view similar to Fig. 22 with the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 24 is an elevational view of the means for advancing the circulars to a position between a carton and an article located at their loading positions;

Fig. 25 is a plan view of the means shown in Fig. 24 and is drawn to a slightly larger scale;

Fig. 26 is a view taken substantially along the line 26-26 of Fig. 1 and shows the means for ejecting the article from the feed chain and the means for bending the circular prior to the time when the article engages said circular;

Fig. 27 is a view similar to Fig. 26 showing the article partially ejected from the feed chain and illustrating the manner in which the circular is bent before insertion in the carton;

Figs. 28 and 29 are views illustrating further details of the mechanism shown in Figs. 26 and 27;

Figs. 30 and 31 are views similar to Figs. 26 to 29, inclusive, showing a slightly modified form of the means for bending the circular;

Fig. 32 is a plan view of'the means shown in Fig. 30;

. showing the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 34 is a view of the improved glue applying 6 apparatus used in my invention;

Fig. 35 is a view similar to Fig. 34 with the parts in a slightly different pomtion;

Fig. 36 is aplan view of the mechanism shown in Figs. 34 and 35 and also illustrates the mannerl0-inwhich theflaps of the carton are folded prior tojthe gluing operation;

Figs. 37 to 39 inclusive are details of the folding means shown in Fig. 36. a 9

Prior to my invention, it has been customary in devices of this nature to use a feed. chain having a plurality of pockets or buckets. formed thereonfor the purpose of supporting and carrying articles to aposition where these articles may be inserted in a carton. These chains usually have been driven intermittently as by a Geneva movement, so that they were stopped while the article was being ejected from the pockets on the chains and this meant that when the chains were again put into motion to move the next article into position, the chains would be given a sudden jerk which would cause the articles in the pockets to move around and out of the position intended so that when it was desired to eject the article from the chain, the article would not be in the position desired. Furthermore, chains which are driven intermittently are less efficient in their operation and do not permit the-articles to. be positioned as rapidly as might be desired.

The. present invention has eliminated most of the dimculties arising from the use of a chain which is driven intermittently by providing a driving means for the chain which drives the chain continuously but at a speed which varies from a very slow speed to one which is considerably faster. To express it differently, it might be said that the chain is moved so that it is moving very slowly while the article is near the position where it is to be ejected from the pocket, in which it rests, and moves rapidly after the article has been ejected until the next article is near the position where it is to beejected.

Other difficulties which were experienced with prior devices have been overcome in the manner suggested in the objects of the invention and these will be more fully set forth as the description of the apparatus proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 9, inclusive, the reference numeral 1 represents the frame of the machine embodying my invention and 1' represents a supplemental frame member which rests on the frame member 1 and helps support the various parts of the mechanism, presently to be described. A plurality of shafts 2 and 3 having sprockets 8 and 8', respectively, rigid therewith, are adapted to carry the chain 4 which has pockets or buckets 5 on the outer surface thereof for the reception of articles which are to be placed in cartons. The shafts 2 and 3 are rotatably mounted in brackets 9 and 6 respectively, the bracket 9 being fastened to the supplemental frame member 1 and the bracket 6 being fastened to an extension '7 secured to one end of the frame 1.

The shaft 2 has a worm wheel 10 fastened rigidly thereto and adapted to rotate therewith, as will be best seen in Fig. 4.. A bracket 13 on the supplemental frame member 1' has a shaft 12 rotatably mounted therein and this shaft carries a worm 11 meshing with the worm wheel 10. A chain 15 is trained over a sprocket 14 rigid with the shaft 12 to drive the shaft which, in turn,

drives the feed chain through the worm and worm wheel just described. I

A bracket 20 on the main frame 1 carries the main drive shaft 19 which may be driven from any suitable source of power. A gear 18 is rigid with the shaft19 and drives the gear 17 meshing therewith and rotatably mounted on a supplemental bracket 2t! which is mounted on top of the bracket 20 and held in place by the bolts 24. The downwardly extending ears-25 and 25 on the bracket 23 have stub shafts 17' and 16, respectively, rigid with respect thereto. --The gear 1'7 is rotatably mounted on the stub shaft 17' and the sprocket 16, which has a disc 26 preferably but not necessarilyintegral therewith, is mounted on the stubshaft 16'. The disc 26 has a roller 27 eccentrically mounted thereon and this roller is slidable between opposed guiding members 28 fastened in parallel relation to each other and to a radius of the gear 17. The chain 15 is trained over the sprocket 16 as well as the sprocket 14.

As the gear- 18 rotates, it drives the gear 17 and due to the pin and slot connection between the gear 17 and the disc 26 integral with the sprocket 16, the latter are rotated about the stub shaft 16 and at a non-uniform speed. This nonuniform speed is transmitted by means of the chain 15 to the sprocket 14, shaft 12, worm 11, and worm wheellO, to the chain 4 and is so timed that the chain will be driven very slowly past the position where the article is to be ejected therefrom and move rapidly to position successive articles in position to be ejected.

It will be understood that the shaft 19 is rotating at a uniform speed and therefore the gears 17 and 18 also rotate at a uniform speed. However, it will be noted from an examination of Figs. 7, 8 and 9, that the uniform speed given to the gear 17 is transformed to a non-uniform speed for the disc 26. Figs. 7, 8 and 9 represent three successive positions of the gears 17 and 18 and of the disc 26, the gear 17 rotating in the direction indicatedby the arrows and each position of the gear 1'7 shows the gear rotated through from its previous position. Therefore, in Fig. 8,-the gear 17 has rotated thru 90 from the position shown in Fig. 7 but it will be noted that the roller 27 has rotated less than 90 about the stub shaft 16' and therefore must have rotated at a speed slower than the speed of the gear 17 while traveling from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that shown in Fig. 8. However, when the gear is moved from the position shown in Fig. 8 to the position shown in Fig. 9, the roller 27 moves more than 90 about the stub shaft 16' thereby rotating the disc 26 at a speed which is greater than the speed of rotation of the gear 17. As the gear 1'7 rotates from the position shown in Fig. 9 to a position 90 farther on in the same direction, the roller 2'7 will move approximately the same amount as it does when moving from? the position shown in Fig. '7 to the position shown in Fig. 8 and similarly in the next 90 of rotation of the gear 17, the roller 27 moves through the same angle as it does when moving from the position shown in Fig. 8 to that shown in Fig. 9.

Since the movements of the disc 26 are transmitted through the sprocket 16 and the chain .15 to the feed chain 4, it will be seen that the latter will receive a movement which is alternately fast andslow. The various proportions of the disc 26 and gear 1'? may be varied and the roller 27 may be given more or less eccentricity than that illustrated, or the stub shafts 17' and 16' may be offset more or less than that illustrated to vary the ratio between the slow and fast speeds of the chain 4, as desired, it being understood that the same principles of operation apply even though the proportions may be changed as stated.

Referring now to Figs. 10, 11 and 12, a means is provided for transferring the cartons from a position within the hopper 29 to the position where they are to receive the article. The hopper 29 has a front wall 31 and a rear wall 31', the latter having a longitudinal slot therein for permitting the operator to place the cartons in the hopper. The hopper also has a wall 82 on one side thereof connecting the walls 31 and the hopper by means of a stripping device which is later to be described, and, to insure that the cartons will settle to the bottom of the hopper, the hopper is provided with a combined gate and agitating device which comprises a lever 36 shown more in detail in Figs. 17 and 18, and this .lever is pivoted at 3'7 and carries a gate which passes through an opening 35 in the front wall 31 of the hopper and is adapted to engage the edges of the cartons within the hopper. I

A screw 38 is screw-threaded into the bracket 38' fastened to the hopper and passes freely through an opening in the upper end of the lever 36. A spring 39 surrounds the screw 38 and yieldingly urges the lever 36 against the head of said screw, which head limits the movement of the lever in that direction. For moving the lever against the action of the spring 39, said lever is provided with an extension 41 which has a cam surface 42 adapted to be engaged by a roller 43 rotatably mounted on a reciprocating lever 44. The lever 44 is reciprocated by means of a cam actuated lever 45 co-operating with the cam 45. Each movement of the lever 44 to the left moves the lever 36 clockwise and each movement of said lever 44 to the right releases the lever 36 so that it is free to rotate counter-clockwise and thus urge the gate 40 in a downward direction. The weight of the cartons in the hopper permits the gate 40 to ride over the edges of said cartons on its upward movement since there is not enough friction between the gate 40 and the edges of-the cartons to carrythe cartons along with the gate in its upward movement. However, as the gate 40 begins its downward movement, the friction between the gate and the cartons, supplemented by the weight of the cartons, produces a force suiiicient to insure that the cartons always move toward the bottom of the hopper and that there is always a carton ready to be stripped from the bottom of the stack of cartons in the hopper. The gate 40 also serves as a gauge to insure that only one carton at a time can be carried out of the hopper. For this purpose, the lower edge of the member 40 while in the position shown in Fig. 17, is adjusted by means of the screw 38 to a distance less than the thickness of two cartons and more than the thickness of one carton, away from the support 76 on which the bottom carton rests so that said gate will prevent the carton second from the bottom from coming out of the hopper with the bottom carton. It will be understood that when the bottom carton is being stripped from the stack of cartons, the gate is in the position shown in Fig. 1'7

and not that shown in Fig. 18 where it is shown slightly raised.

The lever 44 receives its motion from a cam actuated lever 45, later to be described. The shaft 46 rigidly mounted in a bearing 47 has guides 48 slidable thereon and these guides support a member 49 which has a pivotal connection at 50 with the lever 44 and guides the movement of said lever. An expander 51 is also mounted on the member 49 and this expander is adapted to enter the carton as said carton is moved into its first position in front of the hopper 29, as will be best shown in Fig. 11, which shows the expander within the partially opened carton.

To fully open the carton and to then move the carton to successive positions in advance of the hopper 29, I provide a transporter designated as a whole by the numeral 52. The transporter is pivotally supported at 55 and 56 on the levers 53 and 54, respectively, which, in turn, are pivotally connected to and supported by the bell crank levers 60 and 61, respectively, as will be best seen in Figs. 10 and 11. The bell crank levers 60 and 61 are pivoted at 59 and 62, respectively. The bell crank lever 60 has a roller 64 rotatably mounted on a projection integral with one arm thereof and this engages a cam groove 69 in the cam 67, rotation of which imparts a rocking motion to the bell crank lever and this motion is transmitted by means of the connecting link 65 to the other bell crank lever 61. The bell crank levers 60 and 61 oscillate about their pivots in unison and cause the levers 53 and 54 to alternately raise and lower said transporter to the positions shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Means is also provided for moving the transporter longitudinally at the same time as it is given the up and down movement just described. This means comprises the lever 58 pivoted on the same pivot 59 as is the bell crank lever 60 and said lever 58 has a roller 63 engaging a cam groove 68 in the cam 66 and as the lever is oscillated about its pivot, this motion is transmitted to the transporter through the connecting links 57 and 53. The connections just described give to the transporter 52 a combined motion which moves the transporter to the right from the position shown in Fig. 10 and then downwardly and to the left, and, finally, substantially vertically to its original position. During the The position shown in Fig. 14 illustrates the position of the mechanism just before stripping a carton from the stack of cartons in the hop-' per, and Fig. 15 shows the position of the mechanism just after it has begun its movement towards the right and started to strip a carton from the bottom of the stack of cartons in the hopper. The transporter comprises two parallel members 52 and on the extreme left hand portion of each of said members is rigidly mounted a bearing 72 and each of these bearings has a member pivoted thereto as at '71 and carries a stripper bar '74 having an outwardly and upwardly extending projection '75 on the right hand portion thereof and this projection is intended to engage the lowermost of the cartons in the stack and carry it out of the hopper between the front wall 31 thereof and the supporting her '76 on which it is adapted to slide. Each member '70 has a recess therein to receive one end of a spring 73, the other end thereof being received in a similar recess in the member 52'. This spring normally urges the member 70 upwardly away from the member 52' but the upper movement thereof is limited by a stop '79 engaging a projection on the member 52'.

A pin 81 in each of the members '70 is adapted to engage and be actuated by cams 82 and 84 fastened to the member '76 and in a manner later to be described. The cartons in the hopper are adapted to rest uponthe projections 78 and '78 adjacent recessed portions '7'7'and '77 in the members '76 and '76, respectively. This insures that the edges of the lowermost carton always lie in the same plane for if the cartons were slightly warped and the member '76 did not have the cut-away portions '77 and 7'7, the edges of the lowermost carton would not always be in the same plane due to the fact that the warped portion would have a tendency to make the carton lie irregularly on the surface of the member '76. It will be readily understood that if the edges did not always lie in the same plane, the projection 75, which is adjusted so that its upper edge lies atv a distance above the surface of the member '76 which is not greater than the thickness of a carton stacked in the hopper, will either engage more than one carton or not engage any cartons at all depending upon whether the edges of the lowermostoarton are below or above that normally intended. If the carton is warped downwardly, the bellied portion thereon extends downwardly into the cut-away portions '77 and 77 and the position of the edges thereof is not materially affected. If, however, the carton has its warped portion extending upwardly, it would not materially affect the operation of the stripper. One end of the member '76 is fastened by means of the bolt 86 to a. projection 83 integral with the rear wall 31' of the hopper. The member is fastened to the member '76 and has the cam member 84 fastened thereto.

Starting with the parts in the position shown in Fig. 14, it will be noted that the pin 81 is in engagement with the cam 84. and therefore the member '70 is held downwardly against the action of the spring '73 so as to position the upper edge of the projection 75 so that it is not above the upper edge of the lowermost carton in the hopper. As the member 52' moves toward the right, carrying with it the member '70, the pro jecton '75 on the stripper '74 engages the edge of the lowermost carton and carries it forward as shown in Fig. 15, the front edge of the carton passing through the opening between members 31 and '76 into a position in front of the hopper 29. Soon after the member 52' moves to the right, the pin 81 is free of the cam 84 so that in case the carton is warped upwardly, the action of the spring '73 will yieldingly urge the stripper upwardly so that it will not come out of engagement with the edge of the carton. The surface '70 of the member '70 helps to, support the carton as it is being carried forward and to guide it into engagement with the stripper '75.

Again referring to Figs. 10 to 12, inclusive, it will be noted that the transporter, as shown in Fig. 11, is in its lowermost position and the carton 30, just to the right of the front wall 31 of the hopper, has been partially opened by the expander 51 and that the member '70 is considerably below the bottom of the hopper and is in a position where it is to be raised vertically along with the transporter into the 'position shown in Fig. 14 or Fig; 10. As the transporter moves from the position shown in Fig. 11 to that shown in Fig. 10, the projection 8'7 engages the left hand portion of the carto'n and while one side of the carton is held down against the member '76 by means of the expander 51, the projection 87 engages the side shown directly above it in Fig. 11 and opens the carton still further until it is inthe fully opened position, shown in Fig. 10. While in this fully opened position, the upper side of the carton is engaged by the :lfriction member 92 which cooperates with the member '76 to hold the carton in its fully opened position. The shorter projection 88 on. the transporter assists the projection 8'7 by keeping the carton from sliding to the right until the carton is fully opened at whichtime it is carried bodily to the right-by the movement of the transporter, previously described.

After the transporter has moved to the right a distance which will position each carton in its next successive position, said transporter drops downwardly and then moves backwardly, in the manner previously set forth in detail, so that it is in the position shown in Fig. 11 and can again carry out the cycle of operations just described. The carton which was previously moved forward between the projections 8'7 and 88 will be'moved forward by the projections 89 and 90 during the nism, or are carried to the end of the supports '76 and 76' and deposited in a suitable receptacle:

While the carton is in one of the successive positions shown in Figs. 10 and 11, it is opposite the'unloading position for the articles in the feed chain 4 and the transporter is so timed that the carton is stationary while the article is being inserted therein. However, it is possible with this device to have the carton move slowly along with" the slow feed of the chain'so that the carton can be filled while it is still in motion. For'instance, I might use a continuously moving carrier as in my Patent No. 1,486,598, granted March 11, 1924. A chain similar to the chain 4 might be used to keep the cartons opposite the article pockets in the chain 4. 1

Means are provided for positioning a folder or circular C between the carton and the article prior to inserting the article in the carton. This comprises the hopper B having a member 13' pivoted thereto for the purpose of engaging one edge of the circulars adapted to be placed therein, as best seen in Fig. 2, and a suitable mechanism 94, of well known design, is used to remove the circulars from said hopper and place them in a position such as that shown in Figs. 24 and 25. In these figures, C represents the initial position of the circular and C C C and C represent successive positions thereof. While in the present instance, the device illustrated shows means for folding the circulars and feeding the same to a position between the carton and the article, it will be understood that these circulars need not be folded and that any other desired 

